Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman on Friday said his party loves every inch of Bangladesh and all of its people, regardless of religion, while outlining Jamaat’s political vision and development pledges at an election rally in Noakhali.
Addressing the rally at Noakhali Zilla School ground on Friday afternoon, Shafiqur said Jamaat’s politics are rooted in love for the country’s 56,000 square miles and for every citizen. “People of every religion in this country are ours.”
Rejecting allegations against Jamaat, he said the party had never engaged in extortion and had instead been subjected to harassment through attacks and legal cases. “We did not harass anyone by filing false cases, nor did we engage in case-trading,” he said.
He also cautioned that Bangladesh would not be safe in the hands of leaders who became involved in wrongdoing before assuming power, saying impatience had driven many to engage in misdeeds.
Referring to the country’s youth, the Jamaat ameer said the party does not believe in distributing unemployment allowances but wants to entrust the future of the country to young people. “They will be the pilots of tomorrow’s Bangladesh, and we will be their passengers,” he said.
Speaking on development in the Noakhali region, he said that if the 11-party alliance comes to power, Subarnachar would be upgraded to a municipality. He also pledged effective measures to prevent river erosion and promised to take steps to resolve other problems faced by people in the region.
The rally began at 9am with district Jamaat ameer and 11-party alliance candidate for the Noakhali-4 constituency Md. Ishaq Khandaker in the chair. Leaders of Jamaat and the 11-party alliance at the local level also addressed the gathering.
Jamaat central Assistant Secretary General ATM Masum Billah, Ducsu Vice President Shadik Kayem, central International Affairs Secretary Mutasim Billah Shahediother central leaders were present at the rally.
